Monday, June 24, 2013

I love knitting with upcycled Hooplayarn! The selvedges of cotton and jersey are saved from the bin and instead are wound around cardboard cones and sold as yarn to hand knit and crochet into new products.

I bought my two favourite colours, blue and grey, from the wonderful Fabrications on Broadway Market and transformed the yarn into cushions to sell at the Knit Wits knitting group market stall in Brixton.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Following a visit to Brighton in November 2011, I blogged about the Vans recycling scheme I saw advertised in their shop window and mentioned how great it would be if more shops started operating and promoting take back schemes to increase the available avenues for garments to be re-used and recycled.

It is now nineteen months later and I am very happy to follow up the Vans blog post with examples of more take back schemes I have spotted in shops around London. Furthermore, many schemes include a financial incentive to encourage customers to bring unwanted garments back when they visit the store.

As more people choose to shop in out-of-town malls and shopping centres such as Westfield, traditional behaviours of donating second hand clothing to local charity shops can become increasingly inconvenient.

The Green Style Blog on the British Vogue website recently featured a similar take back for recycle scheme launched by the global retailer Intimissimi. The following images were taken at Jack Jones, H&M, Marks and Spencer and Clarks.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

As part of recycle week 2013, DEFRA have developed this infographic about clothing waste with support from WRAP. It's shocking to see the figures, but great to see clothing in the spotlight for recycle week!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

As a leaving present for a wonderful colleague, we collected squares of fabric from unwanted materials (which matched colours from Waste Watch branding) and I created a cushion which will now be loved and treasured.

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About

Following 6 years studying textiles and sustainability at University of the Arts London, Julia established Upcycle Fashion to promote creative and wearable solutions to extend the useful life of clothing. In addition to sharing practical upcycling tips and inspiration online, Julia runs hands-on workshops for school and community groups to teach easy garment upcycling tricks alongside practical sewing skills. Julia is also a member of the Australian working committee for Fashion Revolution Day, a campaign to promote transparency throughout the fashion supply chain, and to raise awareness of the damaging impact the fashion industry can have on people and planet.